Batch 1 - HP success

[Anglezarke]

Hi, first post and first batch made.

So, I took it real slow, and ordered a copy of Melinda Coss's excellent Natural Soap. I studied the sections on oils, fats and butters, the equipment list, the saponification chart, superfatting theort section and of course the recipes. I then bought the bits I needed - a new stick blender and dedicated crock pot (or slow cooker as they are called here).

I watched and re-watched the excellent Homemaking on the Homestead video and decided that I would adapt a Natural Soap CP recipe and go crockpot HP.

I wanted to understand the science so I decided to alter the default recipe I had, which called for an even mix of coconut, palm and olive oils. Instead, one of Melinda's recipes had a good proportion of (sweet) almond oil, which was said to give a white bar. Besides, I didn't have any olive oil and was keen to start. So I went for a mix of:

400g Coconut Oil
300g Palm Oil
300g Sweet Almond Oil

I ran through Soap Queen's lye calculator and decided to superfat at 3% after considering Melinda's take on this. This gave me:

330g Water
150g Lye

I used tap water that I let stand overnight to evaporate any residual chlorine.

I then planned oils and did a few tests of blends on paper. One I found online which blended great was a three way blend which I read can be maxxed at 15ml per batch.

5ml Neroli
5ml Bergamot
5ml Geranium

For accuracy, I used a dropper into the essential oil bottles and decanted into a small measuring jug / shot glass thing, which is almost to the ml. The essential oils were the only ingredients I didn't weigh, because I understand that's wrong.

I did the lye bit outside and used laboratory beakers and full face and arm protection. Wow it gets hot quick! It didn't go "clear", it still looked a little milky after a lot of stirring?

My first trace seemed to happen quick - maybe 5 minutes max of blending. It might not be quick, I don't know I was expecting 20 minutes, I don't know why (inexperience I guess).

I followed the video to a tee, did a roll in the finger test and a zap test and got a little zap, so cooked some more and got zero zap.

I poured into a couple of empty dry Tetra Pak juice containers for moulds because the silicone one I ordered online hasn't arrived yet.

So, they cured overnight and I cut some big bars and some small bars. The Tetrapaks held up well (they were cheaper than Pringles!!) and I chopped the bars with a knife but I have a wire slice on order.

The bars came out a solid creamy white, and feel pretty solid already.

I've tried the small bars (letting the large ones cure for 1-2 weeks minimum) and they lather up great and smell amazing.

I'll try olive oil next time but I do like the sweet almond result.

Lessons learnt (mistakes on the way!):

Prepare a production line. I did have things organised but when I was stirring and blending, I realised I didn't have a good laydown area for utensils. Luckily I didn't damage my worktop. Next time I'll have a plastic sheet down.

Get thicker gloves. These things get hotter than I expected.

Anyway I enjoyed myself and am really happy with the result.

Then I found this place and am going to learn from your experiences I hope

 

[Sdoap]

Awesome man, awesome. Congrats on your first batch. Can you tell me, does Coss's book focus only on CP soapmaking? I'm looking to get a decent book. I'm going to do HP exclusively. Thanks ; )

 

[Anglezarke]

Thanks! There are a couple of HP recipes in there so she goes through the process but you can HP any CP recipe anyway. Here's the contents page:

 

[Sdoap]

The book certainly looks helpful. I've also just recently put on the lab coat. Yeah that makes sense about recipes being workable no matter if doing CP/HP. Thanks for the TOC scan.

 

[lsg]

Congratulations on your first batch.

 

[Dawni]

Congratulations!

My first batch unassisted didn't look much like soap lol

 

[Anglezarke]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

 

[shunt2011]

Congratulations!

 

[Angi B]

congrats!

 

[SaltedFig]

Congratulations on your first soap!

I like the careful research and detailed log of what you have done - very nice!

Keep a bar or two from this first batch ... one to test and one to just keep. Soaps high in coconut can be harsh on some peoples skin (but not everyone's) ... but something amazing happens to old soaps, and even harsher ones become very gentle and lovely to use after a very long cure (which is why keeping two bars is good ... one is to keep trying and taking notes, so you can document how the feel of it changes over the months and years, and one ... is just to admire your very first soap )

Two small tweaks (if you don't mind - I hope you don't) ...
1/ change your lye mixing vessel to either good quality stainless steel (I use this), or #5 plastic (polypropylene is commonly used, as it is both heat and lye resistant). Unfortunately glass (even good quality laboratory beakers) is etched by the lye and, over time, weakens and will (eventually) shatter.
2/ Use distilled water. Tap water often contains metals and minerals than can trigger oxidation and/or DOS in your soap - the worst offender is copper (but there are others). Copper is quite common in tap water in older houses, because the pipes carrying the water are made of copper. Having said that, some people have tap water that they can soap with successfully, but it's not possible to know in advance (before DOS, which might show up months later) whether your tap water is one of them. By using distilled water, you remove the risk of your tap water ruining your good soapy work.

But ... back to your wonderful first soap! Could we have cut pictures please?

 

[Anglezarke]

Thank you so much for the feedback, it is really appreciated. I didn't know of the reasoning behind distilled water so I will certainly take that forward. There are copper pipes in the property here, so it will be interesting to see how this batch holds up regarding DOS. And regarding a lye mixing vessel, I'll certainly use plastic or stainless from now on - I chose the glass for heat without considering the chemical resistance.

The high coconut does feel quite drying so I'll possibly lower the figure next time and add something moisturising at the same time I add my essential oils.

Here's a couple of photos:

 

[SaltedFig]

"The high coconut does feel quite drying ..."

Lowering the percentage of coconut does lead to a milder soap (the current recommendation seems to be to keep it under 20% in most recipes), but it is good to know that any young soap will feel quite drying for the first few weeks - this settle down as the soap cures.

If you wash your hands once every week or so with your test bar, and keep good notes on how it performs (bubbles, rinsing, skin feel etc.), you will be astounded at how different the soap becomes over time (even with the high coconut, it will become much milder than it feels today)

Thanks for the pics - your soap (and setup) looks great!

 

[Anglezarke]

Thank you. It has cured really well and has settled creamy and lathery, might batch this again. You are right it has certainly changed over a few weeks, and for the better.

 

[ibct1969]

Welcome to the forum and to the addiction. You made some very pretty soap!